House To Meet Select Current, Past Officials In L$16bn Currency Probe

A number of current and past officials of government are expected to appear before the House of Representatives on November 8 to provide information on the printing of L$16 billion banknotes.

Current and former officials of the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning, Liberia Revenue Authority, Ministry of Justice and the Board of Governors of Central Bank of Liberia along with their deputies are among those who will be meeting with the lower House.

The House’s decision was prompted by a communication from Montserrado County District #8 Representative, Acarous Gray, in which he urged the body on Tuesday to invite all stakeholders involved with the printing of the banknotes.

Gray, in his communication to plenary, pointed out that the lawmakers urgent return to session is to, among other things, seek clarity on claims surrounding the L$16 billion currency.

He stressed the need for the Legislature to exercise robust oversight by inviting the stakeholders to clearly state what they know about the printing of the money.

According to Gray, during the constituency break of the Legislature, Liberia became a center of attention globally due to allegations that L$16 billion reportedly went missing.

Said allegation, Gray noted, is ‘damaging to the country’s image and those of us who have the constitutional authority to order the printing of banknotes.’

“The image of the country and the Legislature has to be redeemed and to do this we must have a public hearing on this matter and take the appropriate constitutional actions where necessary,” Gray stressed.

Following the reading of the communication and subsequent debate, the House reached a decision to invite present and current authorities of the named institutions to appear before plenary on Thursday, November 8.

Source: LINA

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Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL) since 1986, and several other international organizations of journalists, and is currently contributing to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as Liberia Correspondent.